the mayans did not have "blood rituals" it was about the human heart beating outside of the body, one of many other references that are spun to support the idea of vampires that they say never existed in a true form anyway. Vlad "dracula" (please... :(....)
this docu is garbage.
:(
*for emphasis.

This isnt so much a documentary as a comedy. The fact that true vampires have never existed is nothing I needed a documentary to tell me. Fine for a bit of a laugh and some interesting facts but its overall pretty dumb, that guy with his little monocle in the skulls eye takes the cake

Vlad's real story is far more interesting then this vampire nonsense, he was a Romanian born into the order of the dragon whose father gave him to the Turks as a peace treaty, his father then broke the treaty but instead of the Turks killing him they raised him, anyway long story short he returned to Romania and defended it against the Turks who he ditched and hated all along, it's Romanian folk law that there was a golden cup in the poor villages but no peasant would dare to steal it, there was no crime. apart from the mass killings. Hollywood would rather make movies about boxing robots. unbelievable,

By all accounts as a young woman she was quite attractive not to mention one of the richest women in Hungary. However as she aged her belief in the rejuvenating effects of blood increased as did her penchant for murder and torture. Perhaps she was so deluded that she saw herself as beautiful after bathing in the blood of her victims. Imagine an old crone admiring herself in a mirror and seeing what she wanted to see.

@ Achems,
Me jealous ? You mean the Queen of the Nile river Of whom love floweth thru her veins ? Be jealous ?, Ha! It would take more than a barbaric slave under my feet to be Jealous.Why the world bows down to me as I command ! Why would I be Jealous of anything or anyone?
Go ahead indulge in your Rotted aged blood bathes and feast on dead blood.Meat rotting in the grave is what you get.Hardly a thing to be Jealous of :-)

The discussions in here are 100% better than the doc LOL. @Achems Razor: you always have evilly intelligent things to add, and there is a great deal that hints to me that you are well-educated (whether through school or self-taught) on a great variety of subjects and have obviously held an interesting job or two. I enjoy reading your comments thoroughly, and find myself looking forward to reading them each time I look for a new doc. Thanks for the insight and the giggles!

Vlad Dracul he was called actually.And he was the father of Vlad Tepes, a Transilvanian ruler in the medieval period.

Vlad Tepes actually was a terrible man in eyes of most because he would give severe punishments for even the smallest of crimes.

Also the Turkish people were afraid of him because each time they sent armies against him, he would defeat them easily and usually the generals were impaled horrifically and displayed by Vlad's Castle as a reminder.

On a side note, Bram Stoker based his novel loosely around the character of Vlad Dracul's Son.

And seriously, in Romania for lots of people at the countryside, the dark ages seem to still linger they believe in dead coming back to life and s@$%. Yeah kinda like a vampire but they call it Strigoi.

It's natural for a country that was kept under USSR rule until 1989 to still have fears like this.I mean I can litterally take you guys by the hand and show you.It will blow your mind how superstitious they sill are about stuff like this.

great man...finaly someone that know the origin of Dracula..as i my self coming from ex-yougoslavia where those stories are exact same..wierd####

seeker111
- 11/20/2011 at 14:30

txns- and its much more mistic because comes from there...you know

fk_censors
- 04/05/2013 at 22:47

I know many people in the country-side there, including many uneducated people. None of them has any superstitions about the undead, nor do they know much about Strigoi, vampires and the like. On the other hand, most of the children know lots about iPhones, tablets, cars, and downloading pirated music.

"Achems Razor10/09/2010 at 07:23 Ha,Ha, not scary at all, nothing really scares me, have worked in blood, guts, body parts, dead people, corpses, grey matter brains leaking out through skull fractures, has anyone here smelled the rotting corpses of a human being? it is a smell no one would soon forget!!

This doc. is a cake walk! (LOL)"

I sure hope you're talking about you job as a parmetic and not like . . . . anything Ted Bundy . . . . ish! Leaking brains is one thing, but if you start talking about eating any, . . . . . well I'd just have to blame it on a viral infection caught from Randy! (yeah, I've seen "Resident Evil" but I hated every minute of it! Way to scary for me!)

Ok. I bite! [ pun intended :-) ]. . . I have 50 minutes before I have to head back to classes tonight. Let's watch this poorly made doc now!

@ randy - I will of course take your book suggestion on board as well!!

Re:Twilight - I have read, own and like the series but just ignore all the vampire things they stuffed up (imho). I also actually enjoyed a non sexual vampire story for a change! I do hate the movies, however....Sad, pop culture spam :(

All the history discussions here are very interesting and Google is getting a good work out from me at the moment!! Thanks for the inspiration, folks :)

I agree with your assertion that we should not view characters from the past in the light of the present. I also agree that this does no good for Hitler or Stalins image. But we have to ask ourselves why a whole nation of mostly decent and moral people followed these men. In Hitlers case we need look no further than the treaty of versailles.

If a more fair and ethical treaty had of won the day Germany would not have been so in need of a savior or someone to restore thier national pride. In my opinion much of Hitlers sucess at home was due to the fact that he was reclaiming what should have never really been taken from Germany. We can not leave a country in such a shape and destroy thier means to improve themselves without the danger of some charismatic person like Hitler taking control and promising them survival again.

I mean we have to admit what he did for the German economy was brilliant. He gave them back thier pride and a means to make a living without suffering humiliation. When one can do this he can get away with horrible attrocities and his citizens will tend to overlook the evil peaking from around the edges of thier new found wealth and prosperity.

That said I did think your comment was just a little condescending. Maybe I just read it that way, if so I am sorry. But not everyone finds this topic so interesting and to say that this was intended for a more simple audience than yourself, well I am sure that made others that happened to enjoy it feel a little put off. Everyone has thier forte and some of these guys are really sharp when discussing things relevant to thier interests. I think maybe I misundertsood the intent behind your comment though, I hope so anyway.

I liked this documentary, it had history, folklore, etc, but they (who ever they may be..) cut out the part about the teen "vampire" who killed his girlfriend's parents. In part 8 of 11 when they are explaining about him the doc jumps to another bit which is something like a short overview. I wander if it was intentional.
I have been interested in vampire folklore (from the superstition stand point) and the topic of superstition in general for many years, and in my opinion they could have delved into that deeper instead of concentrating as much as they did on modern "vampires" of all sorts and kinds.

Also, 'Rafa', you should have made sure of what "Drakul" and "Drakula" actually mean before posting your translation. I've had an interest in Vlad Drakula "tepes" - the impaler, for a long time, and have done research on him and his life. The truth of the fact is, that his father was called Drakul, meaning dragon in Romanian, because he was part of the Order of the Dragon (Drakul wasinvested into it on Nov 8 1431 in Nuremberg, Germany). Vlad himself, was called Drakula, or son of Drakul - dragon, because he was his father's son and because he too was in the order. In fact the name of his whole familu tree is Drakulesti (of Wallachia).

Those who after watching the part of this doc describing and depicting Vlad's unusual activities, here's some information that might explain some of his more grotesque inclinations. Vlad was born and grew up in a time when savage acts were much more prevalent than today. Case in point is the untimely unfortunate and gruesome endings of his own father and elder brother Mircea (also known as Drakula). Drakul was seized by the traitorous boyars and beheaded, and Mircea was buried alive by the same lot.

I am not saying that Vlad was not cruel and a torturer, he undoubtfuly was. But it is obvious when one looks into Wallachia of his and his father's time that horrendous violence was common. The boyars had after all used it against his own family. Vlad probably had to resort to the atrocious acts he is known for, to keep his rule stable against both boyars (look what happenned to Drakul and Mircea when they lost control over same boyars) and Ottoman Turks (here we have a religion factor as well - Ortodox Christianity versus Islam), to both keep them in line (control them) and intimidate them (fear, remember, is a powerful weapon and tool of control).

What I am trying to say here is that if you want to pass jugement on an Vlad or any other person in history than do so in the context of and from the perspective their own time, and not through the "eyes" of the present. (tis does not include fiends like Hitler and Stalin, because there is no justification for what they have done, fear and keeping in control had nothing to do with their acts of violence).

Anyhow, the doc was nice but a bit too sensational for my taste. It could have been much more serious and in depth in my opinion, but then it was not meant for people like myself who look at this seriously from the historical and anthropological point of view. It was meant for te general audience, inform a little, to entertain a lot.

although you seem to know a lot about Vlad The Impaler, his nickname wasn't "Drakul" but "Dracul" and religion wasn't a factor in his battles against the Ottoman Turks, it was more of an excuse so that the Pope would support him in defending his country and Eastern Europe's borders, he also used the crusades as another excuse to get rid of the Turks who threatened his country.

but you were right when you said that we shouldn't look at his actions through the "eyes" of the present because he only did to the Turks what they had done to his people because when they invaded his lands they burnt down whole villages and people had to hide in the mountains(but very few managed to survive) and to Romanians Vlad Tepes is a national hero and one of the bravest people that have ever existed, thanks to people like him Romanians have been on their ancestor's lands for more than 7000 years as sons of the oldest civilization in the world, one even older than the Mayans' and that is the Dacians/Pelasgi.

also, RobinSweet, if you are so interested in history you should look up "Dacians" and "the pelasgi" on the internet

Reasons Voice
- 10/11/2010 at 19:05

Lol. Getting cash from me, Randy, would be as simple as Dracula sucking blood from the statue of Venus. I will check out your book selection.
Ont he twilight deal yep sad that the once predatory nocturnal nemesis has become sparkling ab blasting metrosexuals.

@LisaP; If you enjoy the vampire geanra look into Toma Hollands two books. Lord of the Dead and Slave to my Thirst. Both a great read. They are Historical vampire fiction. Meaning it is fiction that uses real historic figures.
Not sure how I feel about the whole vampire sexuality thing, possibly because the latest in that group would be twilight series which to me reads like a 15 year olds fantasy fiction written on her trapper keeper. Then again I had an ex that used to bite and claw alot and still, ten years later, recall her fondly....

No Hannibal the cannibal was fictional literary charcater, but he was based on a real guy named William Coyne.
Harris once told a librarian in his home town, Cleveland, Mississippi, that Lecter was inspired by a murderer named William Coyne, who had escaped from prison in 1934 and gone on a rampage in Cleveland that included acts of murder and cannibalism. Coyne's exploits were the stuff of local legend when Harris was growing up. I grew up not far from Harris's home town and love his books, especially the Hannibal Lectre character. If you go to answerbag dot com believe it or not your exact question is one of the faq's listed on the first page.

And gosh did you make me laugh with your post about your wife. Good to know some men jump with the crack of a whip! lol. She sounds like a heck of a woman!

...Well now I have watched the film I am half bored and half impressed. There was a lot of very good and comprehensive information mixed with the boring stuff being repeated over and over.
I was also able to recognize the authors being interviewed!! I have many of their books so that helped me to listen to the information more seriously. I have heard all the main stories before, but I did enjoy the fresh look at them.
Lilith is my favorite figure and I was glad they mentioned her.... Not happy at all about how much negativity was put on Vampire: The Masquerade.. Most role-players DO know the D20 is mightier than the sword...

@ Randy
I remember when I read Dracula for the first time, I had to re read that section a few times to ensure I was actually reading what I thought I was!... Surprised the heck out of me!

Vampires+Sex go hand in hand for me (thank-you anne rice!) so damn sexy. I love all things vampire and look forward to giving this a go. I have loved the comments so far, quite interesting.

oh, ps... with all the cannibalism talk here, has anyone seen the cannibalism movie done in the 70's as mentioned in another doc asking if snuff exists... That'd be trippy!! It looks very well done (man I wish we had Halloween in OZland)

vlad tepes/dracula/vlad dracul has gained some reputation from the tatars. his technique of psychological warfare was very brutal. he mostly was demonised by the turks. if he was somewhere further in the catholic power, i bet he would be viewed slightly different, some sort of crusader hero. i'm from Romania by the way.

@EZ; Haha forget about when they grow up whay about their kids. How mortified would you be if you were say, 13, and your friends saw your dad dressed like that??
@Achems; Pigs dig putrifaction too. Pigs are foul critters though too dang bad they taste so friggin good. I try not to think about all that corpse chewwing poo rolling that my baccon did before I fried it up nice and crispy.

History Channel can be very cheesy sometimes! I enjoyed the origin stories, where the myths originated from, the more psychological side of it, Bathory was an interesting character! Sorry for jumping on you there Connie :)

If you wanna be 'goth', that's cool, but being a 'vampire' is just a bit too out there for me, to each his/her own I guess. But yeah, pop cultures fascination with vampires is getting a bit weird. I live in Canada, and I remember last year there were like two or three new vampire shows that started up, add this to True Blood and the Twilight series movies, and there is clearly an over-saturation of the market by vampire shows/movies.

Tried to watch this in honor of the holiday, halloween and all you know. Just couldn't make it all the way through, to cheesy for me. It does get a little gorey with the corpses and all, but nothing major. I am way too desensitized for it to be scary and way too realistic for it to be interesting. Oh and I agree, modern day vampires are a joke. Ever wonder what these people will think of thier own behavior when they finally grow up? They remind me of the people that come to ride horses with me all dressed up like cowboys with spurrs and all. I love to ride horses but I gave up cowboys and indians at about 10 years old, by the way if you sink that spurr in my horses flank he will put you on the ground, and I will keep you there beating you about the head and shoulders profusely. No wonder we can't find a decent candidate for president, everyone is playing vampire or cowboys and indians when they are not to busy at the local mini-mall buying the newest cell phone-type writer-computer-can opener- spork combo.

Yeah, the only animal that I know about, besides vultures, hyenas, and other carrion eaters, that revel in human or animal rotting flesh, are "bears", they like nothing better than to slurp up putrid, rotting remains, are in their heaven when they do this, for them just like eating honey!

Want to keep this low key, so won't go into the more gory details, don't want to turn anybody off on their supper (LOL)

Achems; Yea I know that smell (shivers). One time I had to pour the contents of a body bag into a new one as the occupant was leaking out. As to smells nothing touches when the medical examiner cleans out the autopsy table drains with draino. Picture it and wretch. As to this doc no nothing is scarey about people who are so desperate to be different that they play act being just like dozens of other dark fettish kids.

Coyote03, No I wasn't sreiously demeaning anyone, Achems got it ! I can't stand the site of blood but I like to watch a good Bella Lagosse movie providing I have someone wait out side the bathroom door and walk me down the dark hallway for a couple days after. LOL And of coarse the most blood I want to see is no more than a trickle down the mouth. GRRR I never thought anything would be this graphic.... Maybe no one else is damaged by it but I would be if I watched it all. LOL

Ha,Ha, not scary at all, nothing really scares me, have worked in blood, guts, body parts, dead people, corpses, grey matter brains leaking out through skull fractures, has anyone here smelled the rotting corpses of a human being? it is a smell no one would soon forget!!

I watched this documentary just fine, not exactly sure what you are referring too Connie, nor am I sure whether or not I should be offended by the ridiculously one-sided view point you have on anyone who can watch this documentary in its entirety.

The structure was a bit jumpy, but for the most part was good, it started out with the ancient origin of vampires and worked its way to modern times. It may be the scenes of Báthory bathing in fake blood or killing 600 virgins (many cultures have sacrificed virgins) or the vampire teen who killed his girlfriend's parents, but if you can't stand watching a scene with some fake blood, or anything of a slightly graphic nature, I don't know why you're watching a documentary on vampires in the first place.

On a lighter note, I think it's really interesting how vampires have cemented themselves in popular culture over the last few years.

In college I had to write a "how to do something essay". I wrote it on how to blow your nose. Yes amazing how many bs ideas you can come up with when it needs to be 1,000 words long. Despite the fact I went against the rules of 12pt black arial font and used 16 pt green joker font I got an A+. Thinking of all these terrible school ideas we have reminds me of how much bs kids can come up with when they wanna be a vampire. Okay going to ducktape the kids, then going to find a different doc to watch..lol

This reminds me of the time I got even with my English teacher.
He gave me an A- instead of my usual A+ . He said my story line was too jumpy. I explained that that was intentional. I had then suceeded in my attempts to make the reader feel the nervous enviroment of my story of trying to to a homework project while babysitting.
He would not retract my grade SO...... I got even ! The next assignment he gave me was writing a step by step guide of instruction on any subject we wanted.
SO..... I gave him step by steps instructions on how to Butcher a pig !
LOL I got my A+ and enjoyed that he was Grossed out.
Now all I can figure is Vlatko will very much enjoy listening to the responses on this most shocking,grotesque, repulsive, film of the century!
I have never seen anything as visualy grotesque. Even hiding the picture from my eyes and listening to it is too embarable for the Psyche to comprehend.
I do not believe one can watch this film without being psychologically damaged,The consciousness cannot withstand the shock.
I fear the mind that can watch this film thoughly!

@simontheracist- medieval Hungary? you kiding no? Erdely?
Transilvania was always a romanian teritory ... hungarian people are still the same,only Bathory was ungarian
cant belive that people like you exist
Vlad Tepes aka Dracul or Draculea meaning 'the devil' in romanian language in hungarian dosent mean anything- we dont have the same language.. (not Vlad Dracula- its not the same thing) was a ROMANIAN lord - if you pretend to know this things ...

The blood countess (Báthory) the original vampire (Vlad Dracula of Transilvania (Erdély)) are both of our heritages of medieval Hungary good to know but not to be rememebered us after. They were just early serial killers nothing more but still it is good to see my country feuatured here at TDF thx @Vlatko!:)

you should read about history before writing bullshit, Vlad Dracul was Romanian and Transilvania has always belonged to Romanians, and before them there were the Dacians(Romanians' ancestors) and even before them the Pelasgi(the Dacians' ancestors), even Hungarian historians wrote about the Romanians being there when they got to Transilvania, but it seems that stupid people from the present(mostly hungarians) woke up one day and said "no, our own historians were wrong, we were here before the Romanians" and by the way, even archaelogists proved that we have been here for more than 7000 years(we have the oldest writing in the world, even older than the sumerian one and our civilization is even older than the mayans')